while karzai had to survive while he was being neglected, he is a pashtun. however, he is a peaceful one. his father was a parliamentarian. he himself is not pocketing money, or whatever. host: we're going to let it go there and let john newman reply. guest: i know we are short on time. it is crucial and my son talked to me about all the time how important it is, and the soldiers know that, to treat the local population while group a lot of their medics were training kids from the -- were treating kids from the village who were being hurt by the mortars from the taliban who could not shoot them very well. and we are expanding considerably the civilian effort

t. host: how does that compare with vietnam? guest: we suffered in the early years of the war for not having paid attention to that. host: jon newman teaches courses in soviet, chinese, and east asian history. this is his book. you can try to track and online. thanks for being with us this morning. that will about do it for washed -- for "washington journal" this morning. we will be back at 7:00 a.m. eastern tomorrow. have a great day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] . .

>> she received nearly 54% of the vote in a runoff last month. for live coverage of the inauguration, we will have it in half an hour. right now, a seminar on coalition building an issue

campaigns. live coverage continues throughout the day. tonight, on the communicators, president of the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers. it is a nonprofit agency responsible for managing internet names and addresses. now available, c-span2 book, abraham lincoln. a great read for any history buff. it is a unique and contemporary perspective on lincoln. for lincoln's early years until his life in the white house and his relevance today. abraham lincoln, in hard cover at your favorite book seller. more and more at cspan.org. >> live coverage of the houston

mayors inauguration's. up until that time, a look at this morning's "washington journal." security changes after the terrorist attack on northwest flight 253. scheuer founded the cia counter-terrorism center, the osama bin laden unit, in 1996. here to talk to us this morning about terrorism in the wake of the flight 253 incident. overall, what do we know about the strength of al qaeda as compared to 9/11? even before that, in 1996? guest: they have a much larger geographical reach than they did originally. they have a functioning wing in yemen, one in fourth africa, and

even somalia and north africa. -- north africa, and even somalia. on the face of it, it seems that they are wrong in reporting that they have not expanded. host: we see reports about what we are doing to prevent people from entering. we read about and see the launches of creditor drones against al qaeda operatives. what are we not doing that we should be doing? guest: what we have seen is definitive proof that there is such a thing, on any topic, that killing these people one at a time is not sufficient. it was not sufficient in 1995 and is far less so now, as there are so many people in the muslim world that are mad at america. very few muslims hate americans for being americans.

in terms of airports, the watch word is not a silver bullet. if anything, this gentleman in detroit was a rank amateur. had he been a professional, it would not have the nabobs of job. for americans to somehow think that we have a great system to protect them, i think that is wrong. i think sometimes i wonder why we spend so much attention on the aircraft and system when we have 3000 or 4,000 miles of open sea borders. host: going back to your comment from a moment ago about the u.s. killing al qaeda one of the time, what should we do, does that mean a bigger military presence in places like yemen? guest: we are at the drawing

board. we have not progressed since 9/11. we are fighting an enemy that basically does not exist. the american people, for the last four presidents, continued to tell americans that we are fighting an enemy that is motivated by hatred for freedom and our liberties. women in the workplace. liquor after the work day. therefore, there are a fanatic, a limited number of folks. nothing could be further far -- from the truth. host: what are they motivated by? guest: our foreign policy. we have supported dictators. we have supported the police state of saudi arabia that governs a jordan, egypt, and algeria. we give unqualified support to the israelis. these other motivations of the enemy.

this is not to say that those policies are wrong. we all have our own opinions on that. certainly i would move to change some of them. but the idea that you do not recognize what your enemies motivation is for political reasons, you will never be read on who you are fighting. host: yemeni leadership, in the cross hairs of al qaeda -- that was from this morning's "washington times." there is a vacuum if we do not support, but you are saying that one of the reasons that al qaeda is fighting there is this? guest: they are an unusual enemy, often when we do something, it is win-win for them. for example, we did not have an airplane explode on christmas day. but 80% of what they were aiming

for was successful. they terrorized the american people, seized the air-traffic system, causing the united states to spend much more money on screening and personnel. suggesting again to the american people that their government cannot protect them. these are choices between bad actions. host: let's hear from one of the callers. ernest, good morning. independent line. caller: sir, i want to find out if you are one of the good cia guys. you say we are not -- you say that we are fighting an enemy that does not exist. al qaeda is a name that we gave them, they did not give it to themselves. i do not know how in tune you are with the last attempt of a terrorist attack.

could you explain to the people what a false flag operation is? then i would like to know this -- during the reporting of the past terrorist attack, eyewitness accounts have been suppressed. we are talking about the well- dressed gentleman that helped the accused hijacker or bomber to get on the plane, past security, by passing it all with no passport, no identification, no visa. we are talking about the gentleman that was on the flight the entire time. host: michael scheuer? guest: i do not know how the idea has grown that there is no such thing as al qaeda. there was -- they are an organization that formed in

1988. it is a sophisticated organization and to say that it does not exist is mostly in the realm of the social scientists that would like to define the problem away rather than confront it. host: you wrote last week that the obama prescription for defeating al qaeda maintains continuity with of the failed and stubbornly ignore an approach that washington has stubbornly adhered to since 1996. what is the failed approach? guest: maintaining that these are an isolated and small number of people in the muslim world, they have hijacked islam. that is not true. polls show that 80% of the world's muslims agree with the osama bin laden in his view that american foreign policy is

an attack on their faith. even a small portion of that is a lot of people for americans to be fighting. host: with numbers like that, how can any administration have affected partners in places like saudi arabia? guest: they cannot be. we want to believe that we have an effective partners, but the reality is that those governments need to pay fealty to the muslims fighting the united states. those same muslims threaten their stability. host: mclean, virginia. republican line. go ahead. caller: first of all, i have seen you lecture at fort bragg before the house arms committee. i agree with everything you have said in each form. my question to you, when is the

intelligence community going to start coordinating with each other? i was a former counter-terrorism intelligence officer until six weeks ago. i was arrested on september 14, 2009, because i was provided a user name and password to individual in the intelligence community not widely known in the united states. to make it simple, i dreaded of the judicial branch's monitoring of this individual -- treaded on the judicial branch's monitoring of this individual. when is the nsa billing to coordinate with the judicial branch, i.e. fbi? guest: i do not know what the answer is to that. i know that unfortunately the intelligence reform bills pushed

through the congress, very few congressmen actually read it. it expanded the intelligence community from 16 units to 18 units. as a result it has created a greater bureaucracy. we still have computer systems that are not shared across the system. i am told that we sometimes have three or four different cpu's under their desks in order to have contact with different agencies. personally i think that nothing short of another attack on the short of another attack on the united states is guest: certainly, the leadership has not been inspiring. caller: good morning. i would like to know, how can we as americans stop someone who is willing to put a device on themselves and blow themselves

up and others. i would like to know how we can stop it. guest: i do not think there is a way to stop it with any 100% assuredness. one way to stop it is to decrease the motivation of those people who attacked us. until we are willing to recognize what the basis of their motivation is, which is things like support like israel, support like the saudi police state, we are not going to be able to stop any of them or many of them. the number of people willing to carry those devices will increase over time. ultimately, we have to find a way to dissuade them from focusing their anger on us and persuade them to focus their anger on what they themselves believe is the real enemy, the governments that govern them, oppress them, and israel. and israel.

host: last week "the washington times" wrote about a couple that was sent to a saudi rehabilitation program, that used dialogue and art therapy to rehabilitate the militants. 85 of the most wanted work released, 11 were graduates of that program. yesterday, the president of the counter-terrorism direction, reporting "obama moving ahead with repatriation of yemeni prisoners." he made the comment that the administration policy would not have changed -- i wanted to play this for you. i wanted to get your thoughts. >> let's get this into context. during this administration we transferred 42. seven of those have gone back to yemen. the first one went a few weeks ago. we have had close dialogue with

the yemeni government about the expectations that we have as far as what they are supposed to do. several of those detainees were put into yemeni custody right away. we are trying to do this in a very measured fashion. the guantanamo facility must be closed. we are determined to close it. we are not going to do anything that is going to put american security and rest. working closely with the yemeni government, we are looking at the detainee's and we are going to take the right steps above we will lead to anything to put americans at risk. host: has the release of those prisoners been a success? guest: certainly, it has not. first, this idea that he raised the guantanamo has been a propaganda victory for al qaeda is nonsense. how can you compare guantanamo to prisons that are run by the algerian generals?

certainly the muslim world does not like guantanamo, but to think that that is a major grievance is wrong. mr. obama is closing guantanamo because it pleases the europeans and it pleases the left wing of his party. there is no other possible reason than that. in terms of releasing these people to these rehabilitation programs of the arab government, saudis, yemeni, they have all worked very hard since 9/11 to insulate themselves from criticism after the next attack on the united states. .

i am tired of all these people pointing counties. and the other stations, pushing us to go to war with the muslim friends. they are willing to spend the last drop of american blood and treasure to get their way in the world. they have too much power in this country. people like wolfowitz, the other neocons, that brought us into iraq, and now we are going to spend 60 years

rehabilitating our soldiers. host: any comment? guest: of course, american policy is up to the american people. one thing we have not discussed is our policy toward the israelis. whether we want to be involved in fighting in their wars in the future is something americans should be able to talk about. they may vote yes. but the question is we need to talk about it. ultimately, is real is a country of no strategic worth to the u.s. they have no resources we need, their manpower is minimal. their association with us is a negative for the indicted states. that is a fact, and what you want to do about that is different.

for anyone to say that our support does not hurt us in the muslim world is to justify a reality. host: richard on the republican line. good morning. caller: i would like to hear an answer to the first caller. that well-dressed man brought that person up to the counter without a passport. him and his wife are lawyers. host: you are breaking up a little bit, richard. michael, have you heard about this? guest: the man came from a rich family. it could have been a diplomat assisting him.

i do not have the answer to that. host: john brennan was asked about this attempt to try him in courts as opposed to a military tribunal. this is what he had to say. >> we have an array of tools and we want to make sure we maintain flexibility in how we deal with individuals. he was arrested on u.s. soil in detroit. he was talking to people. there were people arrested in the previous administration -- richard reid, moussaoui, and others -- all of which were charged and sentenced to life in prison. just because someone is put through the legal process does not mean that we do not have

other opportunities to get information from them. >> after abdulmutallab got lawyered up, did he stop talking? >> we got information and we continue to have opportunities to do that. as you come to the individuals and they recognize what they are facing, there are opportunities to talk about it. the fbi has some of the best interrogators in the world. i am confident that we will be able to work the system. he knows there are sort of things on the table. if he wants to engage with us, there are ways to do that. >> we still have the right to treat him as an enemy combatant. why not continue to do that?

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if the system is fair, there will be found innocent. he is never going to be found innocent. it is just going to make our judicial system look more fixed, if you will to our opponents. the real answer to this is continuing either prison of -- prisoner of war treatment or enemy combatant treatment. host: what is your sense of having been with the cia, how much can we learn from this? guest: it varies from individual to individual. i have to yield to the general who said that at 1.2 years ago, they had produced 9000 different intelligence reports from these individuals. i know from my own experience, we got very good intelligence from some of the very senior people. to forgo that on the basis of ideology that these people are somehow a law-enforcement

problem is probably detrimental to american interest. caller: i have a couple of things i would like to say if i can have the time. sir, i respect what you are saying. earlier you said that american government policy has brought about this hatred toward the american people. the government is responsible for the war in iraq, the alley " -- illegal war in afghanistan. many of the people who were in prison at guantanamo without any kind of process were innocent. how would you feel if you are in prison with no charges, no proof

of guilt, six or seven years taken from your family, and that creates more hatred toward this country. basically, it goes to oil. the oil interest, correct me if i am wrong, the way i see it is that when they started bringing oil and we started mucking around with the business of these countries. no wonder people hate us. i think it is misdirected toward innocent americans. this country was founded on slavery and genocide. host: thank you for the input this morning. guest: i think the answer to

this is to treat these people as prisoners of war. this is not a war that people have uniforms on, but clearly these are not people who deserve to be put into the legal system and have that kind of right as an american. it is detrimental to our interest. on the second point, i agree with the caller that ultimately, oil is one key to getting us out of where we are. if we had done something 40 years ago, when the oil embargo was first imposed, we would not need to support the tyrannies that govern the arab world. if we were not supporting certain areas, we would have much less animosity from the arab man in the street today. host: you said there was little reason for a farmer support for

israel, but could you say the same for countries in europe? the fact that they are democracies, fledgling democracies in some case, is that not a strategic element for the united states? guest: i think that is a fallacy. what does it matter if a country is a democracy or not? as long as we protect our democracy to the best of our ability, who cares? why should we be committed to war if the russians move against bulgaria? why should we care about that? israel is not the only country that we are committed to with blood and treasure, in a way

that is not in america's interests. host: harvey on twitter writes -- is there a saudi and in any of this? guest: i do not know but they are probably the most dangerous government to the united states. they are one of the most powerful lobbies in washington. the idea that somehow we are the boss and that relationship is incorrect. when i was running operations against the usama bin laden, they continually refused to help us. they do not mind terrorism as long as it does not happen in the

>> we will go live to houston, texas, for the inauguration of the new mayor annise parker. introductions about to be made. you're watching live coverage now on c-span. >> i am so honored to be part of this historic inauguration. at this time, it is my pleasure to introduce to you your 2010 city of houston elected official. please welcome to the stage the honorable council member elect accompanied by her father. [applause] councilmember district be accompanied by his wife.

the honorable council member district c, accompanied by her son. the honorable one that adams, accompanied by her brother. the honorable mike sullivan, accompanied by his wife. the honorable council member elect district f, accompanied by his wife. the honorable oliver pennington, the district g., accompanied by his wife. the honorable edward gonzales,

accompanied by his wife. the honorable james rodriguez, accompanied by his wife. the honorable stephen castillo, accompanied by his wife. the honorable council member at large, a company by her life partner. -- accompanied by her life partner. the honorable council member at large, position three, accompanied by her husband. the honorable brad bradford,

accompanied by his wife. the honorable council member at large, position five, accompanied by her son. the honorable city comptroller, accompanied by his wife. the honorable annise parker, mayor of the city of houston, accompanied by her life partner. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, we are fortunate to have several former mayors joining us on stage. i will ask them to stand as they're being introduced. the honorable kathryn whitmire, the honorable bob lanier and his wife. the honorable leave brown and his wife. -- lee brown. thank you for your leadership and for sharing your time with us this morning. please stand for the presentation of colors by the

joint honor guard by the houston police and fire guard. our national anthem, performed by the inauguration orchestra and choir. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america into the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

[national anthem]

[applause]

>> thank you. it is now my distinct honor to introduce someone who has inspired millions of people throughout the world. droll steen will offer our invocation. -- ajoel osteen will offer our invocation. >> thank you for this time to come together with our friends and family to celebrate your goodness and the new leadership within our city. lord, we ask you for our wisdom on all of our elected officials. we pray that you will guide them, direct them, that he will help them make the best decisions for our city. we just pray for your strength and your protection around them and your families. we ask that you keep them strong and healthy. we just think you that we have a great city and we believe our city can even be brighter. we can help people all over the

world. we commit this day into your hands and we ask that everything we do will bring honor to you. we looked up especially mayor annise parker. we thank you for raising her up and for your goodness and mercy in her life. we honor heard today and our other officials and we count it a joy and an honor to be here in your presence with all our friends. we distinct for this day. in jesus' name, amen. >> please be seated. ♪

♪ we offer you this prayer, o lord.

all we ask is that you hear our prayer. give us strength today, all lord. phyllis with your holy word -- fill us with your holy word that is in your way.

all we ask is that you are here today ♪ ♪ give us a love of that is true, oh lord

♪

♪ all i ask is that you will say, wellcome ♪

well done ♪ [applause] >> what an inspirational message through song. we would like to take -- think the very talented mary griffin and the orchestra. that was incredible. equally inspiring is the palm you are about to hear from an award winning author and public. -- call it. -- poet.

>> i am honored to be a part of this historic moment. this inauguration. from the time i moved here in 1998, i have been impressed by houston's energy and resilience, it's warm embrace of many cultures, it's enthusiastic encouragement of its art community. as an indian american, a woman, an activist, a teacher, and a writer, i am deeply grateful to the city for supporting me and many others like me. such things do not happen without the backing of a progressive and inspired leadership. it is with great pleasure and great hope that i welcome our elected official, in particularly, our new mayor, with a poem that embodies houston's rich diversity. the poem describes the

traditional women's it dance held every year in several houston locations to celebrate a major indian festival. the nine sacred nights, we dance. like glances off this move the floor of the gym. to the drummers have begun and the old women singing of krishna and the milkmaids. it is an electric not pulling us in, those who have never seen the old land. this night, we have shed our genes for long skirts. pulled back hair in braids. treated nail polish and mascara for hannah -- henna. our hips move like water to the

drums. tamoxifen has had this this pedal, and our skirts swirl up as we turn. we ignore the men. in the bleachers, they smile behind in their hands, whisper. we shine in the black light from their eyes. soon they will join us in the dance, the incline, at the slow arc of the painted sticks meeting or read on the black. for now, the women dance alone. flung forward and back by an unseen it tied. the old ones saying of the garden. the drums pound faster in our belly. our feet slide on smooth wood. our arms are dusted with light.

our hair is a braided and it lashes the air like lightning. the whirling is a red went around us -- read wind -- red wind. the man go branches grow into trees under our flashing feet. the floor --? faces a clean and flicker in a porch light. the smell of harvest hay is thick and narcotics in our throat. we spend and spend it back to the villages of our mothers and mothers are around us. the men are a white blur like moonlight on the fields scene from a passing train. thank you. [applause] >> houston is full of such

incredible talent. thank you. please welcome the united states district judge southern district of texas who will administer the oath of office. [applause] >> good morning. mayor parker, will you please join me at the podium for the administration of the oath of office? repeat after me. i do solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the duties of the office of mayor of the city of houston of the state of

texas and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution and laws of the united states and of this state so help me god. congratulations. >> thank you. [applause]

>> controller green, can you join me at this podium? >> i do solemnly swear that i will where and faithfully -- well and faithfully execute the duties of the office of city comptroller of the city of houston of the state of texas and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution and law of the united states and of this state so help me god. >> congratulations.

[applause] >> mayor parker, i would like to invite you to the podium at this time. >> council members, would you rise and join me, please?

ready? raise your right hand, please. repeat after me. i do solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the duties of the office of city council of the city of houston of the state of texas, and will, to the best of my abilities, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution and laws of the united states and of this state,

so help me god. congratulations, council members. come on up and take a bout. -- bow. >> thank you it so much for presiding over the ceremonies. my heartfelt congratulations to all of our elected officials. we are looking forward to your leadership over the next two years.

she is originally from mexico where she studies music and acting and dance. after a life-threatening struggle with cancer, she auditioned for the school of music at the university of houston. in 2009, america was mesmerized by her remarkable challenge when she participated and was awarded first runner up in the largest talent competition in the world, america's got talent. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome her performing "you'll never walk alone." [applause] ♪ when you walk through the

storm, hold your head up high end don't be afraid of the dark at the end of the storm, there is a golden sky ♪

you will never walk alone you'll never walk alone when you walk through the storm, hold your head up high end don't be afraid of the dark at the end of this storm, there is a golden sky

walk on through the rain walked on, what on -- walk on you'll never walk alone you will never walk alone ♪ . .

[applause]

>> i do love this city. [applause] i think you have heard that before, but i cannot stop saying it. thank you. [applause] i want to thank all of houston ians for honoring me with your trust in your hopes for the future. to serve this suit has to my high as aspiration. -- to serve this city has been my highest aspiration. to work on the challenges that we face is the highest position. i will revere the post i have

taken. i want to congratulate the new city council members and the city comptroller. having served in both of those positions, i know the challenges and opportunities that they face. i salute their service to our city. this is a good counsel. truly representative of our city. and its diversity. so, please honor them again. [applause] there will be times when we disagree on how to view success. but understand each of us is here because we cared deeply about this city and we will bring our best forward. i look forward to working with you.

this is an opportunity for me to welcome my extended family and acknowledged the family members that i have here down on the front row. starting with my mother, kay parker. [applause] i cannot quite see them, but i know they are there. our children. please stand. [applause] yes, our family also looks a bit like houston. [laughter] my sister, allison, in from georgia, and three of her four children, please rise. [applause]

my sister-in-law, her husband, and their son as well. please rise. [applause] my in-laws -dick a, dick and giy hubbard, please rise. all of the way in from buffalo -- they like the weather here a bit better. [laughter] thank you. now, to those of you in the room today, and those of you who might be watching or hearing this, i will be asking of you three things. first, i am going to ask for your prayers.

we have enormous challenges ahead. all that we must do will be done. but there are many things that we should do, that can be done, and we will strive for it. i know that we can achieve anything that we want to do. with hard work with your prayers. by ask for your patience. some things cannot be rushed -- i ask for your patience. some things cannot be rushed. projects begun under one administration, continued into another, it may seem as if very little progress is being made. the compromise, the give-and- take of government, can be a slow and difficult process. but we have a range of voices

and opinions in the council chamber, because no one of us has all of the answer. -- all of the answers. sometimes democracy is a little messy, but we get there. thirdly, i will ask for your perseverance. we are in this together for the duration. you must commit your time and energy to houston. we rise or we fall together. we succeed or we fail together. actually, i will ask for a fourth thing. as much as we try, as hard as we work, for all of the right reasons that we do things, we will make mistakes. we will have failures. i will ask for your forgiveness in advance.

[applause] i have already introduced my mother. i know how proud she is of me. although my father died many, many years ago, i know that he too is extremely proud. i want to say how proud i am of them. and that of the values that they taught me. -- and of the values that they taught me. many of you know that i grew up here in houston. we grew up in a short street in spring branch. we did not have much money. both of my parents worked. my father usually worked two and three jobs. my mother always worked that out

side of the home. in fact, both of my grandmothers did as well. i come from a long line of working women. [applause] my family taught me to work hard. my family taught me to accept responsibility. my family taught me to always get the job done. my family also taught me to contribute back to my community. [applause] thank you. those are the values on which houston was founded. those are the values that i tried to teach my own children. those of the values that i think will shape our future as a city. in these past few months -- more than a few months of campaigning, as i have travelled across the city by kept meeting

folks who reminded me of my own mother and father. people struggling with two and three jobs just to get by. others worried about food on the table. mothers worried about crime and their children's education. family worry about taxes. neighbors worried about preserving the community that they loved. i want you to know this, all of you, the city of houston is on your side. we will get through this together. i know that the city's work force is one of the best anywhere. [applause]

i see them every day. i know many of them. i know the commitment that they have to doing a great job. we hear on the news about the problems, the things that go wrong in this city, and in truth we rarely noticed a smooth workings of our city. how much of this city goes right every day. we miss the smaller in visible events, like two water department crews that work through a cold february night to repair a sewage leak. the nurse at one of our clinics that work a double she short staffed and worked the double shift three days in a row. the bark employee that rescued a dog from a drainage culvert in the middle of a thunderstorm,

getting thoroughly soaked and britain in the doing. probably a ball with the dog -- soap and begitten in the doing. probably along with the dog. those of the unsung heroes of the city. to them, i want you to know that the citizens of houston are on your side. we are in this together. [applause] every speech by every mayor in this country these days will address the economic downturn. in many cities services have been cut back. employees have been furloughed or laid off. the quality of life in many cities is not what it was four years ago. we will not let that happen to the city of houston.

[applause] we do face challenges. we have a budget shortfall here in the city. like all big cities, we have departments that could take a good look at themselves and honestly ask if they are doing the best job. there are always opportunities for efficiency and improvement. but i have been handed a good city, in good shape, and i think mayor white for that. -- thank mayor white for that. [applause]

yes, there is an aging infrastructure. there are issues with tension. the city will need to be redistricted. those are challenges that i know we are all eager to address. [applause] -- [laughter] i will speak in some detail about those priorities when i deliver the state of the city speech in april. but i firmly believe that the future of the city will be shaped by our citizens, not our politicians. i welcome your suggestions and i seek your ideas for the future. a city's success can be measured by the involvement and satisfaction of its citizens. how they view the quality of life in this city. and what our citizens want the city to be for their children. as i have said, we are in this together.

you are a part of the process. the city must be a place, as margaret mead said, where groups of women and men are seeking and developing the high as things that they know. i know that houston is a city of open arms and warm hearts. after hurricane katrina, the entire world knew that as well. thank you for opening ourselves to those in need. [applause] we are a city of opportunity and a city of optimism. we have a sense of partnering and a respect for our differences. houston is a city built on dreams. but our dreams are always power

by hard work, guided by common sense, and inspired by creativity. i spoke of election night of is being an historic election. my election made news around the world. people in houston were not surprised that they had elected the first gay mayorñi of a major american city. we have a tradition of electing a mayor is not for who they are, but for what they believe we can do as a city. [applause] but i do want to speak just

briefly to those from my community. to those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. i understand how much this day means to you. i can feel your excitement in youñijulyand and your joy. but i am also feel your apprehension and longing for acceptance. i will gladly carry you forward. but today is simply ones that. and -- simply wants that. when the time comes i will gladly pass the torch to the next person i am waiting.

i will cheer for them as you do for me. your bravery in the face of threats, your grace in the face of insults sustains me. we will support each other. [applause] do not fear to dream big dreams. frame your whole self to everything that you do. face the world with dignity and integrity. i promise you, the paint is worth the reward. thank you for being with me. [applause]

[shouting] >> thank you. [laughter] i do know this city well. i would not want to live anywhere else. this is a great city. i have been asked many times over the last month to name a city to which i would compare houston. i have thought about that quite a bit. there is, in fact, one said city. -- one such city. that is the houston in my imagination. [applause] the houston that could be. the houston that should be. the houston that can be and will be if we will get to be to

achieve it. [applause] imagine with mea some very real possibilities for our city. imagine neighborhoods where the police are known and recognized and they, in turn, know the neighborhoods and we are all safer. imagine a neighborhood where all children can play outside and the parents do not worry about where they are. and who could harm them. imagine a more unified approach to public safety, where all the law enforcement agencies in this area, houston police working with harris county sheriff's, together i crime initiative. something that makes sense for all of us.

imagine an extensive mobility system embraced by the public. houston is an immense city. we need all possible transit options to move was quickly and efficiently around the city. [applause] that can happen here. and it will happen here. imagine a city with clean and safe air. [applause] as we prosper, we must take pains to improve our air quality. industry knows that. we know that. what is good for people and what is good for neighborhoods is also, ultimately, good for business. we have to get it done. [applause] imagine a city safe from the ravages of floodwater.

[applause] experienced that a little, have we? [laughter] as we know, the weather here can be volatile. there is not much to rain here in houston. we should expect our city to work towards alleviating flooding, especially in neighborhoods where it has happened over and over and over again. i have heard my colleagues on the campaign trail talking about that and expressing their willingness to tackle long term flooding problems in the city of houston. that is a challenge that would take years and dollars and commitment. i thank them for expressing that and stepping up. [applause] imagine a city within during

partnerships where we work closely with other -- with an during partnerships -- enduring partnership where we will work closely and create new ones wherever there are benefits. imagine a city with a high- school dropout rate is insignificant. -- imagine a city where the high school dropout rate is insignificant. [applause] think about what that would mean. think about quality of life and the ability to attract jobs. think about what that would mean for the lines of our children and our children's children. -- for the lives of our children and our children's children. we are an international city. [applause] the entire world lives in houston. we are cosmopolitan, international, the verse and tolerant.

-- diverse and tolerant. i have tried to use the media coverage around my election to tell the world about houston. but i am only one voice. so, today i hereby delegate and to designate you as ambassadors -- delegate and designate you as ambassadors as well. let us tell the world why we live here and why we love this city. [applause] a great city is an ideal. a symbol for other cities. a great city embraces diversity. a great city refuses discrimination. a great city reaches into every corner of itself to assist those in need. a great city of quartz elitism and selfishness. a great city -rolls up it's

sleeves and revels in the work it performs. a great city has no patience for idleness. a great city is one in which all citizens feel the warmth of community, the presence of safety, and the pleasure of dignity. a great city imagines its own bright future and it sets about to make it happen. please join me in helping to make these stains, these things that we are imagining today a reality in the city of houston -- please join me in helping to make these things, these things that we are imagining today, a reality in the city of houston. thank you very much. [applause]

[applause] >> sent you, mayor parker. we are thrilled that you will -- thank you, mayor parker. we are thrilled that you will be sitting in that chair over at city hall. and now, the inaugural prayer. [applause] >> let us pray. o holy one, who we called by different names because we are a diverse people, you are the same

one that calls us to live in this great city together. a city where hundreds of languages are spoken. a city where residents, one- fourth of them all, were born outside of the united states. a trail blazing city shows annise parker to be the mayor. in this -- a trail blazing city that shows annise parker -- that show chose annise parker to be r mayor. even the homeless and hungry are blessed. give us all here is that here each other. voices that speak to truth and love. mines that make sense out of confusion. parts that move us beyond mere tolerance to embrace of our differences -- parts --

hearts that move us beyond mere tolerance to embrace our differences. made the lord lift the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace, both now and forever more. amen. >> amen. [applause] ♪ >> congratulations, mayor. >> ♪ did you hear this message wherever you stand calling every woman calling every man we are the generation that cannot afford to wait we are already late

we have been looking for a song to sing a search for a melody if you are ready for the world to change if you feel the same then go on and say if you are out there sing on with me if you are out there i will tell you do leave if you are out there -- i will tell you to believe it your out there starting l j if you are out there -- if you are out there starting now.

we can feed the hungry we can conquer hate by joining hands the day looking for a song to sing searching for the leader of me we can be heroes go on and sing ñiif you are out there go on and saying there's nothing cannot be done if you are out there out out

oh, now oh if you are ready we can make the world believe if you are out there woah-oh-oh oh! if you are out there and you are ready sing aloud if you are out there

sing along with me if you are out there oh, if you are out there if you can give me, wherever you stand if you are out there calling every woman calling every man we can conquer hate the future started yesterday we are already late ♪ thank you. [applause] ♪

>> ♪ o beautiful, for spacious skies for amber waves of grain for purple mountains' majesty above the fruited plain america america god shed and his grace on thee

clothe thy good with brotherhood from sheet to -- from sea to shining sea oh, yes he did oh! oh ~! ! four beautiful -- for beautiful, for sacred stream this -- streams

undimmed by villany america americama may god shed his grace on thee and may he crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea o beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain

for purple mountains' majesty above the fruited plain america! america! god shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea america, america

god shed his grace on thee and crown thy good and with brotherhood from sea to shining sea america the beautiful ♪ [applause] >> wow.

allr ight l right. wow. ñiwe have an incredibly amazing group of talent -- talented the houstonians. and we are so fortunate to have had them with us for the inauguration. please join me in thanking all of them. the adorable children from the chinese community center. [applause] hourour poets. [applause] ms. barbara padilla. [applause] ms. mary griffith. [applause] mr. warner dixon. [applause] and of course, this group of people behind me, the wonderful inauguration orchestra. and [applause]

this group of people is from the houston symphony and the houston grand opera orchestra, and with them as the earnest walker band. our conductor, the conductor from the white university shepard school of music. [applause] and our inauguration acquirer, the unbelievable voices of the bayou city abundant life cathedral and seventh day adventists. [applause] last, but certainly not least, a lot of people who worked very hard to put these activities and festivities together. there are too many of them to name. if you look in your program please know that the mayor and our elected officials are

grateful that you shared your talents with us. finally, our elected officials actually have to get to work. you need to go to city hall for your first meeting of the year. will all of our elected officials make your way off the stage to the shuttle that will take you to your first meeting. ladies and gentlemen, give them a round of applause. [applause] [applause] çó >> and you, thank you all for coming this morning. it has been my pleasure to serve

as your mistress of ceremonies. i wish you all a happy new year. [applause] ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] ♪ >> we are live in houston at the conclusion of the inauguration. the new mayor of houston, annise parker, the first lesbian to serve as the city's top official, a three-time at large city comptroller and council

official, officially sworn in on saturday, the inauguration taking place today. you have watched this live here on c-span. senator john kerry of massachusetts is undergoing a second hit replacement. the 2004 democratic presidential nominee is having is that it replaced today at massachusetts general hospital. his right hip was replaced in august. the associated press has been told that the senator decided to have the operation now to be sure that he would be back in for the legislative period later this month, which could require a vote on health care. on c-span 2 today, the chief opg officer of common cause is talking about the role of coalition building and

maintenance in advocacy campaigns. live coverage continues throughout the day on c-span 2. tonight, on "the communicators ," brought wrecks from -- rod becstrom, tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span 2. >> there is less than one month left to enter the c-span 2010 studentcam mccotter test. top prize, $5,000. create a eight minute to 20 minute video on challenges this country faces or a strength of the country. winning entries will be shown on c-span. do not wait another minute. c 02 studentsam.org for more information -- go to studentscam.org for more information.

>> hillary clinton is going to speak to the press shortly, we will have live coverage in about 10 minutes. until then, a look at this morning's washington journal. host: the fed chief defends his role in the housing crisis in atlanta. he blamed soft regulations. what are your thoughts on financial regulations, the role of the fed, and more. curtis, democratic line. go ahead. curtis, you are on the air. go ahead. curtis, you will have to turn down your television, you your television, or you will feed back on us. caller: good morning. we have got regulations on the books, but bushie poo and cheney would not enforce them. i wish all of these republicans that love war so much would have their sons and granddaughters

and list in the marine corps and army. thank you. host: thank you for the call. marion, illinois. here is the inside of "the washington post" this morning. neil r. wynn, writing about the speech. we will show you some of the summit from sunday. "he laid out a case policy was "policy was att best for home prices. for one thing, there were many home price bubbles in many parts of the world. new zealand and sweden had tighter monetary policy, yet their home prices rose a more." marion, illinois. good morning. republican line. welcome. caller: good morning. i wanted to comment on the

people instead of the politicians this morning. the fighting that we do between the democrats and republicans are whether the system works off of our attitude. the country has got a bad attitude. we can change that. we can change the direction we are going just by get along and quitting our fighting, cussing, and arguing, like them -- like politicians do. any comment on that? hosed though i do not have any comment, but thank you for yours -- host: i do not have any comment, but thank you for yours. eureka, california. good morning. caller: good morning. i do not understand why they put restrictions on spending. i do not agree with china, but

the bankers over there, i believe that they shot five of @ @ @ å7 . caller: look at what happened with that muslim on the airplane. who did the work to catch him? not someone from the government. the government does not make any money and believe me -- i was

born in 1930. i know what it is to pinch. that is why i can live today. my husband died eight years ago. i am still in the house that i was when we got married. i learned a lot from my in-laws. the last regulation, the better. -- be less regulation, the better. my mother was born -- the less regulation, the better. limy mother was born in 1898 and she thought that roosevelt was a god. but i voted for goldwater. host: he came there during the 1964 campaign? caller: yes, yes, yes he did. he came to pittsfield. reagan came to pittsfield. he came to the fire station. he is another man that told it like it was. people are afraid. people are afraid of everything.

i come from a time when its yield was a tiny town, 1945. my sister married a gi. host: the housing situation there, you are ok with your house, what about your neighbors? caller: my neighbor is ok, the problem is that nobody cares about kids. look at them. if they can buy something, they pay for it. c'mon, let's get it. host: thank you for joining us this morning. our topic for the next 40 minutes is ben bernanke, the fed share. -- safed it share -- the fed chair. this was a speech that he gave yesterday in atlanta.

open-" this year's meeting has been dominated by debate and causes and consequences of the crisis. while many economists here believe a recovery is under way, they're also worried." wayne, democratic line. what you think? is more regulation needed to prevent these excesses'? caller: i believe that that is true. the republican model for government does not work. the first thing that they do when they come to power is circumvent the government, to put people in charge of different offices of the government, who previously were lobbying for the corporations to

lessen their ability to regulate. that is the path of the bush era. unfortunately, probably through the clinton era. it was just everything was all the different offices of the government and the rows of the government's -- pierrot's -- burreaus of the government was not to make them work for the people. and the people got screwed up big time. host: getting a look at the new open-" washington times -- look at the new " washington times -- new "washington times." late last week with a radically

revamped their editorial stamp. they will be a newspaper that focuses on general news and politics, local, regional, and national economic issues. they are focusing on two sections. the main section here, and here they have their commentary, and expanded commentary section in "the washington times." leading with comments from new gingrich, pete ferraro, and john bolton, who wrote this morning open-" the critical -- this morning "as the president learned anything during his first year -- has the president learned anything during his first year? plo is not promising. too often, mr. obama seems either uninterested in the

global threats we face, and persuaded that the current -- that they constitute dangers to the country." virginia, gary, your thoughts on ben bernanke and regulation on the part of the fed? caller: thank you very much, i really appreciate you taking my call. i had to use every gray sell that i had to try to understand ben bernanke last night. i was listening to him on the radio talking about that regulation. i agree with him. i still got a headache. it just packed my brain. i really had a hard time. it is complicated and complex. another thing that i have to say

that i think is important, our uso shows in iraq and afghanistan, i was watching them last year. they were making vulgar, juvenile jokes about the middle eastern women in their culture. host: but shows are you referring to? caller: the uso shows we were putting on. i was watching the pentagon channel. host: is that where you can see them? ok. caller: i was really appalled. i was raised overseas. i went to uso shows. we used to have officials and local nationals, an indigenous personnel from that country. just to hear the jokes that those comedians were making, if i was a base commander i would have had the mp's drag those

people off stage. this was appalling. we are trying to win friends? hearts and minds? it was a disgrace. host: thank you for your input this morning. open-" the wall street journal" -- "the wall street journal" opened with a separate story, " al qaeda threat escalates." "recent and rare on-camera threats were made against u.s. targets by two masked al qaeda representatives in yemen. the threatening remarks saying that their fight was with that the u.s. and not the yemeni government." those embassies, we understand, still closed this morning. keith, democratic line.

we are talking this morning about ben bernanke and the role of financial regulation. caller: regulation is needed, but at the same time we need to teach our children how to manage their finances. those regulations do not mean nothing. we will be right back into the same thing. host: what is the one most important thing that you teach your children about finances? caller: basically how to pay your regular bills on time. how to manage a bank account and put money away just in case hard times come around. that is the best thing that we could do as american people. host: thank you for calling in, keith. the front page of open-" the philadelphia inquirer" -- of

"the philadelphia inquirer" says open-" fed chief says to boost -- "fed chief says to boost." caller: here is what we need to rein in. we need to rein in the fed. what did ben bernanke do with all of the trillions that he made out of thin air? host: thank you. ben bernanke was speaking in atlanta last night about financial regulation and about what led to the explosion in the housing market. here is what he had to say. >> at some point lenders and borrowers became convinced that house prices would only go up. borrowers shows and were extended mortgages that they would not be able to service in the longer term. they were provided these homes based on the notion that refinancing would allow them to manage a more sustainable blown

given increasing prices. this description suggests that regulatory and supervisory policies, rather than monetary policies, would have been a more effective means in addressing the run-up in house prices. host: we were treated to one of the many charts that he used last night in his speech. tom, of pittsburgh, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. before stating my concern relative to ben bernanke and his predecessor, john bolten is hardly someone that you would want to quote. his self-interest are well-known and he is an anti-american salad. he has no credibility at all most knowledgeable americans. but we live in a capitalistic society. capital being cash money.

ben bernanke, alan greenspan, the bankers that control our economy, they have very little interest in pursuing a policy that is advantageous to the american people. they are about using large sums of money to wield little influence. and the apathy and the lethargy that the american people are attacking this issue with, they seem more concerned with football scores an irrelevancy that the mass media puts in front of them to distract them. front of them to distract them. the only boat out of office every one of these fakes